ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 2259
http://www.s-gabriel.org/2259
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14 Mar 2001
From: (Josh Mittleman)
Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel!
You asked whether was used as a feminine given name in our period,
particularly in France or the British Isles between 1200 and 1450. (The
slash in the name represents an acute accent mark on the 'i'.) You
explained that you want a name suitable for a French or Anglo-Irish woman,
and mentioned that you had considered the name .
You also asked our evaluation of your heraldic design, "Vair, a stag
statant argent on a pile inverted gules." Here is what we have found.
As best we can determine, was not used as a feminine name until
modern times, and even today it is quite rare. The modern French word
(with an accent mark on the 'e' rather than the 'i') is masculine;
the feminine form is . The modern use of as a feminine
name probably originated in English as a pet form of the equally modern
names or [1].
However, there was a similar medieval French name. It appears in England
as in 1194, in Paris and elsewhere in France as in the
13th century, and in France as 1355. Most of these women were
Jews, but the 13th century French example was a Christian. The name
probably derived from a feminine form of the Old French word
"precious, dear, beloved" [2, 3]. In 13th century French it would have
been pronounced \TCHAYR-@\, where \@\ represents the sound of the 'a' in
and . This appears to have been a very rare name among
Christians, but it is a plausible choice for a Christian woman in France in
the 12th-14th centuries. It requires more speculation to imagine that
was used by Christians in England or in the English communities of
Ireland, but it is not impossible.
You explained that you constructed by combining a
name similar to with an Anglo-Irish surname and a Scottish Gaelic
adaptation of in an effort to show family relations in both
Scotland and Ireland. Multiple surnames weren't used in this manner in
medieval English. However, forms of do appear in 14th century
Anglo-Irish records: and [4]. In that period,
the surname was pronounced \BOHT-@-lair\. If we accept the speculation
that was used among Christian women in medieval England, then
would be a plausible 13th or 14th century Anglo-Irish
name. However, we can't recommend the given name as good re-creation: If
you want a likely name for a medieval Anglo-Irish woman, then you would do
better to choose a different given name.
If you particularly want to place your persona in Ireland, you might want
to consider Irish Gaelic culture. There were a couple Gaelic feminine
names that may appeal to you: and , pronounced \KEE@R\ and
\KEHR-@\ [5]. Irish Gaelic naming customs were quite different from
English customs, and Gaelic grammar and pronunciation are tricky; so if
you're interested in pursuing the possibilities, we recommend you start by
reading this article:
Quick and Easy Gaelic Bynames
http://www.MedievalScotland.org/scotnames/quickgaelicbynames/
Write us if you have any questions.
The pile inverted wasn't really used in medieval British heraldry. In
fact, we suspect you're not really drawing a pile: A pile is a very narrow
triangle, and a stag placed on it would be very tiny. If the angle at the
tip of your triangle is closer to 90 degrees, then what you've drawn is
better described as "Per chevron vair and gules, in base a stag statant
argent." The difference is illustrated below; the ASCII drawings are
rather crude, but we hope they're clear enough.
.-----------------. .-----------------.
| | | |
| | | | . |
| | | | | / \ |
| | | | | / \ |
| | | | | / \ |
` | | ' ` / \ '
` | | ' ` / \ '
` | | ' ` / \ '
\ | | / \ /
`. | | .' `. .'
`-. .-' `-. .-'
`v' `v'
a pile inverted per chevron
If we're right and you're drawing "Per chevron", then you've got a pretty
good re-creation of medieval English heraldry. Unfortunately, your design
cannot be registered with the SCA College of Arms, as it is too similar to
previously-registered armory [6].
Here are some other designs typical of English and French heraldry in your
period that we think may appeal to you. As far as we can tell, you could
register any of them with the SCA College of Arms.
Argent, three stags statant azure.
Argent, three stags statant gules.
Vair, three stags statant gules.
Gules, a stag statant argent and a chief vair.
We hope this letter has been useful. Please write us again if any part of
it has been unclear or if you have other questions. I was assisted in
researching and writing this letter by Adelaide de Beaumont, Talan Gwynek,
Julie Stampnitzky, Zenobia Naphtali, and Juliana de Luna.
For the Academy,
Arval Benicoeur
14 Mar 2001
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References
[1] Dunkling, Leslie and William Gosling, _The New American Dictionary of
First Names_ (New York: Signet Books, 1983), s.n. Cheri.
[2] Colm Dubh, "An Index to the Given Names in the 1292 Census of Paris",
Proceedings of the Known World Heraldic Symposium 1996 (SCA: Montgomery,
Alabama; WWW: SCA, Inc., 1997). This source lists the name as ,
with an accent grave on the first 'e'. That form of accent was not used in
medieval French; it is a modern editorial addition.
http://www.sca.org/heraldry/laurel/names/paris.html
[3] Seror, Simon, _Les Noms des Juifs de France au Moyen Age_ (Paris:
Editions du Centre national de la recherche scientifique, 1989),
s.n. Che/re.
[4] Jones, Heather Rose (aka Tangwystyl verch Morgant Glasvryn), "Names and
Naming Practices in the Red Book of Ormond" (SCA, Inc: Known World Heraldic
Symposium Proceedings, Tir Ysgithir, 1998; WWW: J. Mittleman, 1999).
http://www.panix.com/~mittle/names/tangywystl/lateirish
[5] O/ Corra/in, Donnchadh and Fidelma Maguire, _Irish Names_ (Dublin: The
Lilliput Press, 1990), s.nn. Cera, Ciar.
[6] Your design is too similar to the arms of Gianni Arcieri: Per fess
azure and bendy sable and argent, a stag at gaze argent. There is one
difference counted for the changes to the field, but nothing for the
displacement of the stag from chief to base, since that move is required by
the changes to the field (a stag argent could not be placed on the
half-argent part of the field in either design).